The 2024 NHL Playoffs are underway, and Stanley Cup odds are in flux during the opening round.
You can bet on the odds for each playoff team to win the Stanley Cup at all of the best sports betting sites. Stanley Cup futures are posted in the offseason and stay live from the start of the NHL season in October through the NHL Playoffs in the spring.
This guide can help with your Stanley Cup futures bets with live NHL championship odds at the best NHL betting sites.
See below for current Stanley Cup futures odds direct from NHL betting sites. If you see odds you like, click them to visit that sportsbook and claim your welcome bonus.
The Hurricanes jumped out to 2-0 lead over the Islanders in the first round of the playoffs. Carolina is 14-4 in its last 18 playoff games at PNC Arena.
Carolina finished the regular season with a record of 52-23-7, good for second place in the Metropolitan Division behind the New York Rangers. Those two teams appear to be on a collision course to meet in the second round.
Florida is bidding to return to the Stanley Cup Final after losing to the Vegas Golden Knights last season. The Panthers own a 2-0 series lead over the Lightning.
At BetMGM, Florida’s Sam Reinhart has commanded the most handle and highest number of tickets to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as NHL Playoff MVP but he’s still offered at long odds.
The Oilers own a 1-0 lead over the Kings after a 7-4 win in the opener. Edmonton has bounced Los Angeles out of the playoffs the past two seasons.
Edmonton ripped off a franchise-record 16-game winning streak this season. The Oilers failed to tie the NHL record of 17 games after a 3-1 loss to the Golden Knights.
Edmonton’s Connor McDavid is the betting favorite to win the Conn Smythe Trophy at BetMGM.
The Rangers jumped out to 2-0 series lead over the Capitals in the opening round of the playoffs. New York represents BetMGM’s biggest Stanley Cup liability.
The Rangers (55-23-4) captured the Presidents Cup as the NHL’s winningest team in the regular season. The Blackhawks were the last team to win both the Presidents Cup and Stanley Cup back in 2013.
The Avalanche are again a contender to win the Stanley Cup. Colorado’s offense is led by center Nathan MacKinnon, who closed as the odds-on favorite to win the Hart Trophy (regular season MVP) at BetMGM.
The best sports betting apps will post Stanley Cup odds in American odds format, which means you’ll see both negative and positive odds. Negative odds indicate the favorite, while positive odds signal the underdog.
Negative odds, such as -155, tell you how much you have to wager to win $100. In this example, if you bet $155 and your wager won, you’d get $100 in winnings (plus your stake back).
Positive odds, such as +220, work slightly differently. The number you see shows you how much you stand to win for every $100 you bet. So in this example, if you bet $50 at those odds and you won, you’d be paid $110 in profit (plus your $50 back).
Every bet you make will pay out based on how much you wager and the odds when you finalize your bet slip.
Because the NHL is one of the top US sports, it lends itself to a broad selection of bet types. Below, we look at some of the most common and popular NHL betting odds.
You’ll encounter a wide variety of NHL bets at online sportsbooks, so don’t be afraid to try new bet types and expand your betting experience.
Sports betting lines move for two main reasons:
In the case of Stanley Cup futures odds, regular-season team performance will be the primary driver behind odds movement.
Oddsmakers use a variety of sources to gather information when crafting their initial lines. Upon release, Stanley Cup futures odds will be very favorable for the bettor, but that’s because so little data is available this early in the process.
As more information becomes available, such as how a team is playing, how players are performing, injuries, and other news, the oddsmakers can tighten up the lines. The closer it gets to the postseason and the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the more accurate those lines become.
As a bettor, you must weigh the risk versus reward of betting early when there isn’t a lot of information available vs. waiting until the picture is clearer but the odds are less friendly.
Futures bets are a large part of every sportsbook’s offerings, which means you can find them for just about any sport. The Stanley Cup Final is no exception, especially since the NHL is one of the four major US sports leagues.
With futures bets, you can bet on which team you think will win the NHL championship well before the regular season even begins. The best sports betting sites like Caesars and DraftKings tend to publish their Stanley Cup futures odds not long after the previous NHL season comes to a close.
When the lines are first released, the odds will differ greatly from what they will look like during the regular season and as the playoffs approach. This is due to the limited data oddsmakers have to work with when they initially make their odds.
Those lines will shift as the offseason progresses and the regular season starts. The more games that are played, the clearer the playoff picture becomes. The field of reasonable contenders narrows, so the odds tighten.
As a bettor, you have to weigh the risk versus reward of betting early or late. Betting early means you’re giving yourself the best possible odds, but you may lack pertinent information.
By waiting, you’ll encounter less favorable odds, but you can make a much more educated decision. This is the negotiation of timing any futures bet.
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Here are the last 10 Stanley Cup championship teams and the team’s coach at the time.
| Year | Team | Coach |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Vegas Golden Knights | Bruce Cassidy |
| 2022 | Colorado Avalanche | Jared Bednar |
| 2021 | Tampa Bay Lightning | Jon Cooper |
| 2020 | Tampa Bay Lightning | Jon Cooper |
| 2019 | St. Louis Blues | Craig Berube |
| 2018 | Washington Capitals | Barry Trotz |
| 2017 | Pittsburgh Penguins | Mike Sullivan |
| 2016 | Pittsburgh Penguins | Mike Sullivan |
| 2015 | Chicago Blackhawks | Joel Quenneville |
| 2014 | Los Angeles Kings | Darryl Sutter |
Besides betting on the Stanley Cup playoffs, numerous other hockey futures bets are available. Futures bets usually involve a considerable time between the bet’s placement and the outcome’s determination. These bets can focus on team or player achievements.
Team futures might comprise bets on which team will advance to the Stanley Cup Final, secure the Presidents’ Trophy, win their conference, or take their division. Odds for these bets will fluctuate based on each team’s probability of attaining particular milestones.
Season win totals are another popular futures bet, with sportsbooks establishing lines predicting each team’s tally of victories before the start of the season.
Bettors can then wager on whether a specific team will secure more or fewer victories than the sportsbook’s forecast. This type of bet is widespread across numerous North American sports, not only hockey.
Futures bets can also focus on individual player performance, such as forecasting which player will secure major end-of-season awards such as the Vezina Trophy, Hart Trophy, or Norris Trophy.
Some of the NHL futures available at many sports betting sites include:
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